At last night’s Flagstaff City Council work session we learned that council will be voting on an upcoming resolution against uranium mining and transport. They will also be making it a City legislative priority to lobby against uranium mining and transport.

The second installment in a series on local issues and the current Flagstaff City Council. Created and posted by a friend. Check it out:

“Setting a goal to help people in need is great, but if your plan is flawed and resources are limited, how many people will you actually help? Is the current City Council of Flagstaff too ideological to actually help people, or is accomplishing a goal “on paper” by any means necessary more important?”

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to be interviewed on the Love, Guns & Freedom radio show with Gianluca Zanna on KTOX 1340 AM. We discussed Flagstaff politics, taxes, socialism, climate action plans and much much more. You can listen to my interview in the first segment here:

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Great video on the current Flagstaff City Council posted by a friend. Check it out:

“If America swerved to avoid the ditch, Flagstaff jumped out of the moving car. Did we truly elect people that represent the will of the entire community, or did the people of Flagstaff get fooled again?”

This afternoon the Flagstaff Sustainability Commission voted 5-1 to support a proposed Carbon Tax & Dividend resolution for the City of Flagstaff. I was the lone NO vote. Council will be voting on this resolution sometime in August.

Below is my statement to the Commission explaining my vote:

“On January 28th, 2016 the Flagstaff Sustainability Commission voted 4-3 to support the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal put forth by the Citizens Climate Lobby. I was one of the three NO votes. I will be voting NO once again, tonight.

While I feel that those advocating for a carbon fee and dividend proposal in Flagstaff have their hearts in the right place, I believe this plan has too many unintended economic consequences and will actually hurt some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

I have not talked to many in Flagstaff who actually like the details of the Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal. Yet, most say they still support it because they have to support something. I can’t just support “something”. Details matter. I would like to remind this commission, and those watching at home, that supporting the wrong thing for the right reasons is still wrong.

I do not expect to sway other commissioners with these comments. I simply want the record to reflect my strong opposition to this resolution.”

More information on the Citizens Climate Lobby who proposed this resolution can be found here:

This afternoon the Flagstaff Sustainability Commission voted 5-1 to support a proposed 1/8 cent sales tax hike for open space on the November, 2018 ballot. I was the lone NO vote. The Flagstaff City Council will be voting to put this proposal on the November, 2018 ballot in the coming months.

Below is my statement to the Commission explaining my vote:

“Studies by a number of non-partisan think tanks like the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy have concluded that a sales tax is the most regressive of the three main forms of state and local taxes. When looking at sales, property and income taxes, the sales tax disproportionately impacts the poor the most by taking a bigger chunk of money from people that have smaller sums of money and slower income growth.

As our commission works to expand our scope to include social and economic justice, this sales tax proposal will conflict with our new goals. It will push the sales tax above 9% making Flagstaff one of the highest taxed cities in the state.

This tax hike will add to an increased cost of living for everyone, especially our low income friends and neighbors. Those who will have a much more difficult time finding the funds they need for the increased cost of basic taxable items.

Some might argue that it is only a few dollars a month. I would ask them to talk to those in our community who live paycheck to paycheck and still struggle to purchase necessities. Can they afford additional monthly costs?

While I believe parks and open spaces are something our community highly values, (with the exception of the City Owned Schultz Pass parcel that Council and some special interest groups are pushing to develop) I cannot support increasing a regressive tax that penalizes those in our community who can least afford it. I will be voting NO.”

Here’s the official literature from supporters of the the 1/8 cent sales tax proposal.

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Last night the Flagstaff Sustainability Department sent out an email to interested parties asking for applications to serve on the City’s proposed Climate Action Plan Steering Committee. This committee will help put together the goals and objectives for the CAP, working alongside a third party consultant that the City is in the process of hiring.

Those interested in joining the Climate Action Plan Steering Committee can find more information at the surveymonkey link here:

Last week I posted on Twitter my concern that the public and local business community was being brought into the process a bit late. This was met with a critical response from the City, who said I was not adequately representing the public participation opportunities in the plan.

My concern stemmed from the fact that a private stakeholder meeting and two private scoping committee meetings had already been held. The scope of the plan, centered around “social justice”, has already been outlined. I have been told by City staff that the scope of the plan can change with public input, but I would have liked to see that public input happen before the scope had been put in place.

Since the details of this plan will impact every resident and business within the City limits, I encourage my readers to pay close attention and make your voice heard at every opportunity.

For now, here are the meeting notes from the stakeholder and scoping committee meetings. This is an opportunity for you to read for yourself what has already been discussed and come to your own conclusions: